Stardust fireplace inquest: 48 individuals who died in Dublin nightclub blaze have been unlawfully killed, jury guidelines | EUROtoday

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All 48 individuals who died in a nightclub fireplace in Dublin 43 years in the past have been unlawfully killed, a jury has concluded.

The blaze within the Stardust membership in Artane, north Dublin, on Valentine’s evening in 1981 was the biggest ever fireplace catastrophe within the historical past of the Irish Republic.

Most of the victims have been below 21, and an additional 200 individuals have been injured within the fireplace.

The longest working inquest in Ireland, directed by Ireland’s then-attorney normal Seamus Woulfe, opened final 12 months, sat for 122 days and heard the testimony of 373 witnesses.

Now a jury has returned a verdict of illegal killing. The jury foreman stated they’d reached the identical verdict into the deaths of every particular person.

Some relations jumped to their toes and clapped on the verdict, whereas some sat of their seats and have been moved to tears.

Others embraced one another as quickly as “unlawful killing” was pronounced.

Coroner Myra Cullinane paid tribute to the “persistence and commitment” of the households who had campaigned for contemporary inquests.

“To the families, I acknowledge the deaths of these 48 young people is a source of ongoing grief to those who loved them, and it remains the defining loss of their lives,” she stated.

“However, I hope that family members will have taken some solace from the fact that these fresh inquests were held, that the facts surrounding the deaths were examined in detail, that moving testimony was heard from many of those involved in the events of the night and, most importantly, that you the families felt fully involved in proceedings, however difficult it was to hear all of the evidence.

“The fact that these inquests have been held at all is in no small part due to the persistence and commitment of families over the years.

“And, finally, we remember those 48 young people who lost their lives on that fateful night. It is their lives that we’ve sought to vindicate by way of these inquests.”

Irish premier Simon Harris described the Stardust tragedy as “one of the darkest moments in our history” and “a heartbreaking tragedy because of the lives that were lost, the families that were changed for ever, and the long, drawn-out struggle for justice that followed”.

He stated after the verdicts have been delivered: “I’m extremely conscious of the fact that this must be an extraordinarily difficult and emotional day for all of the families involved, people who have sought justice, answers and truth for such a long period of time.

“As taoiseach, I certainly stand ready to interact and engage with those families.”

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